Out of all the errands Yoongi had to run, stopping at Su-Jin Seamstress was one of his favorites. It was an odd, colorful place, with pots of dye in the back that emitted swirling rainbows of steam, and the shelves full of folded fabric scraps and spools of thread housed a kaleidoscope of patterns. It was warm and smelled of comforting of leaves and vegetables from the brewing dyes, and the ladies who mended all the clothes brought in were kind. He’d brought his young brothers along instead of leaving them at home, after a long deliberation over if it’d be more of a hassle to clean up after whatever mess they made of their small home, or to keep an eye on them as they went through the busy shopping district.
Yoongi shifted the pile he was holding into one arm to free up the wrist wearing the metal credit bracelet. The Swipe swung and chafed slightly on his thin wrist, always slightly too big for him since it was fitted for his father. Yoongi had slid it gently off his sleeping form before they’d left to run errands, knowing he could return it before his father woke up in his armchair. The head seamstress scanned his wrist, the small ding announcing sufficient funds. He placed the pile on the counter and watched as her deft hands sorted through, her quiet mutterings of inventory lost in the rustling of fabric and chattering of assistants that filled the store. He stood for a few minutes while he waited for her to finish her tally.
“So with four shirts, six pants, and a pair of gloves needing holes patched, and one pair of pants needing the hem lengthened an inch, I can get it to you in 10 days, 25 credits.”
Yoongi’s eyes widened; he was expecting 40 at least. “Are you sure? That’s for everything?”
The older woman smiled, the wrinkles around her eyes crinkled, and her hand, lined and stained with dye but warm and comfortingly rough, reached forward to pat his. “I remember your mother well. Hana, lovely girl who worked for me for a time,” her smile faltered briefly, “I was sad when I heard of her departure.”
Yoongi felt his chest tighten, a familiar grip around his heart when his mother was brought up. “We appreciate it. Thank you, ajumeoni,” he said as he bowed slightly. The seamstress smiled at him and gave him his return ticket.
He turned around to look for his brothers, but they were nowhere to be seen. He checked amongst the inventory shelves, down each aisle expecting to see two small heads with wavy black hair pop out of the fabric. But nothing, not by the dying vats, not milling amongst the shop assistants.
“La-On,” he called, “Jun-Soo!” Anxiety ebbed at his insides and he kept pushing his hair back off his forehead. A hand wrapped around his wrist and Yoongi jolted out of his stupor. He was standing between the sewing tables, a few assistants staring up at him from their work. The one holding his wrist, a middle aged woman in a yellow smock, gestured towards the door.
“If you’re looking for those two boys, they ran out towards one of the passing stalls,” she said. Yoongi thanked her and rushed out of the shop. Unfortunately, there were quite a few of the traders’ carts in front of the seamstresses’. Yoongi could see why his brothers had gotten distracted and ran off; the multicolored light displays advertising each vendor’s wares and the smell of sweets from a few carts must’ve been heaven for the two young boys. He stopped a few of the vendors to ask if they’d seen his brothers, but most of them shooed him away when they could tell he had no intention of buying anything. Finally, one man with a cart full of handspun candy had finally seen his brothers, and pointed him further down the corridor.
Yoongi took off, dodging between carts as he looked frantically for signs of his brother. He should’ve just left them at home, he thought, what kind of brother was he. A few people cursed at the young man when he bumped into them as he ran by, but he was getting tunnel vision. He did manage to glimpse a militia officer who was eyeing him with a hand on his shock baton. He ducked away from him, getting detained was the last thing he needed as he kept searching.
“Jun-Soo! La-On!” He shouted. He saw the girl too late and toppled into her. Yoongi tried to catch himself on a shop display but ended up pulling it down with him. The shopkeeper ran out and yelled at him, and Yoongi kept bowing as he apologized and collected the wares off the ground. The man snatched them away and retreated into his shop. Yoongi turned to the girl, who was still sitting on the ground.
“I’m so sorry about that,” Yoongi said as he picked her up off the ground. He dusted some of the dirt off her faded dress and adjusted it, his brotherly instincts taking over. The girl looked about eight, about the same age as his twin brothers. “You wouldn’t have happened to see two boys running around, would you? They’re hard to miss; same face, too much energy?”
The thin girl looked up at him and opened her mouth to respond, when behind them they heard “Hyung-ah! Hyung-ah!” La-On ran up to them, one hand outstretched with his fist tightly closed around something. “Look what that lady over there gave me!” His hand opened to reveal a cracked bright yellow button. “I wanna see if the seamstress will sew it onto my shirt for me.” La-On smiled brightly, showing gaps of his lost baby teeth.
Yoongi swatted the side of his brother’s head. “Don’t run off on me like that, you scared me! What if you’d gotten in trouble?” La-On’s bottom lip pushed forward and quivered as his eyes welled with tears. Yoongi sighed and reached forward to ruffle his hair. “It’s fine, you’re fine. Don’t do that again, okay?”
La-On nodded and rubbed one of his eyes with the heel of his hand. “So you met Ji Su?” he asked.
Yoongi had briefly forgotten the girl standing between them, who was staring up at him next to his brother. “Your new friend?” he asked, and his younger brother nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah!” he said, already recovered from the scolding and bouncing slightly. “She helped me pick out the button.” He held the yellow button aloft again towards Yoongi, who placed a hand on top of his curly head as he looked around the corridor.
“Have you seen your brother? We still have to find him.” He felt a tug on his sleeve and saw Su clutching the end.
“Oppa,” she said, and pointed to a stall a few shops down where Jun-Soo stood gawking over a display of Jeonhwa phones. Yoongi patted the top of both kids heads before sprinting towards his other brother, grappling him into a headlock. Jun-Soo shouted and batted his hands at his brother. A few passersby stared at the pair as they fought, Yoongi reprimanding the boy while Jun-Soo shouted muffled curses he shouldn't have known from his brother’s armpit. Yoongi let him go after a minute and his brother punched him in the side with a small fist as final retribution. He chuckled at the boy’s hair, which was now a mess sticking in all directions, and tried to pat it down as La-On and Su walked over to join them. The identical twins’ hair was now equally a mess and Su looked between the two in confusion. The boys were easier to tell apart by their personality, with Jun-Soo's rough exterior and La-On's gentleness, but appearance-wise it was a difference of a few freckles.
“Come on, time to go home,” Yoongi said, “we’ve got some money left over so I’ll even treat you to some hotteok.” His brothers cheered and La-On waved at Su before running forward. Jun-Soo also made to start running, but Yoongi slung an arm around him and pulled him to his side. The boy grumbled a moment before wrapping his arms around his other brother’s waist.
They started following La-On when Jun-Soo said, “Wait, what about her? Is she coming?” Yoongi looked back over his shoulder at the girl who was watching them leave. She jumped slightly when she realized he was looking at her and turned around with a reddened face.
“Come on, Su-ya!” Yoongi called over to her, “You too!” Su spun around and ran over to them, beaming. La-On stopped ahead of them to wait. When the group was all together, the twin brothers and Su started bouncing about, full of energy.
“Tell us a story on the way, hyung-ah,” the twins said.
“The one about the black market!” said La-On.
“No, no! The one about the Deep Dock!” said Jun-Soo.
The pair rattled off stories, almost telling the entire thing themselves from memory, trying to find one to settle on. Yoongi laughed as he watched the pair, and Su smiled as she followed along.
Yoongi shifted the pile he was holding into one arm to free up the wrist wearing the metal credit bracelet. The Swipe swung and chafed slightly on his thin wrist, always slightly too big for him since it was fitted for his father. Yoongi had slid it gently off his sleeping form before they’d left to run errands, knowing he could return it before his father woke up in his armchair. The head seamstress scanned his wrist, the small ding announcing sufficient funds. He placed the pile on the counter and watched as her deft hands sorted through, her quiet mutterings of inventory lost in the rustling of fabric and chattering of assistants that filled the store. He stood for a few minutes while he waited for her to finish her tally.
“So with four shirts, six pants, and a pair of gloves needing holes patched, and one pair of pants needing the hem lengthened an inch, I can get it to you in 10 days, 25 credits.”
Yoongi’s eyes widened; he was expecting 40 at least. “Are you sure? That’s for everything?”
The older woman smiled, the wrinkles around her eyes crinkled, and her hand, lined and stained with dye but warm and comfortingly rough, reached forward to pat his. “I remember your mother well. Hana, lovely girl who worked for me for a time,” her smile faltered briefly, “I was sad when I heard of her departure.”
Yoongi felt his chest tighten, a familiar grip around his heart when his mother was brought up. “We appreciate it. Thank you, ajumeoni,” he said as he bowed slightly. The seamstress smiled at him and gave him his return ticket.
He turned around to look for his brothers, but they were nowhere to be seen. He checked amongst the inventory shelves, down each aisle expecting to see two small heads with wavy black hair pop out of the fabric. But nothing, not by the dying vats, not milling amongst the shop assistants.
“La-On,” he called, “Jun-Soo!” Anxiety ebbed at his insides and he kept pushing his hair back off his forehead. A hand wrapped around his wrist and Yoongi jolted out of his stupor. He was standing between the sewing tables, a few assistants staring up at him from their work. The one holding his wrist, a middle aged woman in a yellow smock, gestured towards the door.
“If you’re looking for those two boys, they ran out towards one of the passing stalls,” she said. Yoongi thanked her and rushed out of the shop. Unfortunately, there were quite a few of the traders’ carts in front of the seamstresses’. Yoongi could see why his brothers had gotten distracted and ran off; the multicolored light displays advertising each vendor’s wares and the smell of sweets from a few carts must’ve been heaven for the two young boys. He stopped a few of the vendors to ask if they’d seen his brothers, but most of them shooed him away when they could tell he had no intention of buying anything. Finally, one man with a cart full of handspun candy had finally seen his brothers, and pointed him further down the corridor.
Yoongi took off, dodging between carts as he looked frantically for signs of his brother. He should’ve just left them at home, he thought, what kind of brother was he. A few people cursed at the young man when he bumped into them as he ran by, but he was getting tunnel vision. He did manage to glimpse a militia officer who was eyeing him with a hand on his shock baton. He ducked away from him, getting detained was the last thing he needed as he kept searching.
“Jun-Soo! La-On!” He shouted. He saw the girl too late and toppled into her. Yoongi tried to catch himself on a shop display but ended up pulling it down with him. The shopkeeper ran out and yelled at him, and Yoongi kept bowing as he apologized and collected the wares off the ground. The man snatched them away and retreated into his shop. Yoongi turned to the girl, who was still sitting on the ground.
“I’m so sorry about that,” Yoongi said as he picked her up off the ground. He dusted some of the dirt off her faded dress and adjusted it, his brotherly instincts taking over. The girl looked about eight, about the same age as his twin brothers. “You wouldn’t have happened to see two boys running around, would you? They’re hard to miss; same face, too much energy?”
The thin girl looked up at him and opened her mouth to respond, when behind them they heard “Hyung-ah! Hyung-ah!” La-On ran up to them, one hand outstretched with his fist tightly closed around something. “Look what that lady over there gave me!” His hand opened to reveal a cracked bright yellow button. “I wanna see if the seamstress will sew it onto my shirt for me.” La-On smiled brightly, showing gaps of his lost baby teeth.
Yoongi swatted the side of his brother’s head. “Don’t run off on me like that, you scared me! What if you’d gotten in trouble?” La-On’s bottom lip pushed forward and quivered as his eyes welled with tears. Yoongi sighed and reached forward to ruffle his hair. “It’s fine, you’re fine. Don’t do that again, okay?”
La-On nodded and rubbed one of his eyes with the heel of his hand. “So you met Ji Su?” he asked.
Yoongi had briefly forgotten the girl standing between them, who was staring up at him next to his brother. “Your new friend?” he asked, and his younger brother nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah!” he said, already recovered from the scolding and bouncing slightly. “She helped me pick out the button.” He held the yellow button aloft again towards Yoongi, who placed a hand on top of his curly head as he looked around the corridor.
“Have you seen your brother? We still have to find him.” He felt a tug on his sleeve and saw Su clutching the end.
“Oppa,” she said, and pointed to a stall a few shops down where Jun-Soo stood gawking over a display of Jeonhwa phones. Yoongi patted the top of both kids heads before sprinting towards his other brother, grappling him into a headlock. Jun-Soo shouted and batted his hands at his brother. A few passersby stared at the pair as they fought, Yoongi reprimanding the boy while Jun-Soo shouted muffled curses he shouldn't have known from his brother’s armpit.
Yoongi let him go after a minute and his brother punched him in the side with a small fist as final retribution. He chuckled at the boy’s hair, which was now a mess sticking in all directions, and tried to pat it down as La-On and Su walked over to join them. The identical twins’ hair was now equally a mess and Su looked between the two in confusion. The boys were easier to tell apart by their personality, with Jun-Soo's rough exterior and La-On's gentleness, but appearance-wise it was a difference of a few freckles.
“Come on, time to go home,” Yoongi said, “we’ve got some money left over so I’ll even treat you to some hotteok.” His brothers cheered and La-On waved at Su before running forward. Jun-Soo also made to start running, but Yoongi slung an arm around him and pulled him to his side. The boy grumbled a moment before wrapping his arms around his other brother’s waist.
They started following La-On when Jun-Soo said, “Wait, what about her? Is she coming?” Yoongi looked back over his shoulder at the girl who was watching them leave. She jumped slightly when she realized he was looking at her and turned around with a reddened face.
“Come on, Su-ya!” Yoongi called over to her, “You too!” Su spun around and ran over to them, beaming. La-On stopped ahead of them to wait. When the group was all together, the twin brothers and Su started bouncing about, full of energy.
“Tell us a story on the way, hyung-ah,” the twins said.
“The one about the black market!” said La-On.
“No, no! The one about the Deep Dock!” said Jun-Soo.
The pair rattled off stories, almost telling the entire thing themselves from memory, trying to find one to settle on. Yoongi laughed as he watched the pair, and Su smiled as she followed along.